pfanstiehl



C. A. PFANSTIEHL. MEANS FOR COMPRESSING TUNGSTENPOWDER. 1 Mmc/mou msn 0cm. 1916.*

1,326.61 4f. Patented Dec. 30,1919.

2 sums-swim c. A. PFANISHEHL. MEANS FOR COMPRESSING TUNGSTEN POWDER.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT.9| |916.

1,326,614. Patented Dee.3o,1919. x I l ZSHEETssnsn 42.

5 6l v 'l @fau/' 7 .'30 H 9 -0 .mgne y y UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

CARL A. PFANSTIEHL, OF HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 PFANSTIEHL COMPANY. INC., '0F NORTH CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MEANS FOR `COMPRE'SSIN'Gr TUNGSTEN POWDER.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

Application filed October 9, 1916. Serial No. 124,564.

vTo all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL A. PFANSTIEHL, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Highland Park, in the county of Lake and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Means for Compressing Tungsten Powder, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specication i My invention relates to means for compressing tungsten powder to form bodies or ingots of tungsten that can be readily handled, machined, sintered, etc., in the various processes o f converting tungsten into manufactured products. My invention contemplates means' for compressing tungsten or other metallic powder into ingot form. The improvements which characterize my present invention are broadly useful in pro ducin'g the tungsten ingot having a high density', which is described and claimed in my co-pending application, SerialNo. 113,323, filed August 5, 1916.

In producing compressed tungsten powder ingots of the class described and claimed in. my co-pending application hereinbefore referred to fine tungsten or tantalum powder is subjected to a pressure of substan tially 135 tons or more per square inch. The greater the pressure employed in compressing the tungsten powder the greater is the density of the finished product. However, when tungsten powder is subjected to such enormous pressure as 130 to 160 tons to the square inch, as m present invention contemplates, serious di culties are encountered when the pressure is relieved due to the factthat the compressed powder tends to iiy apart or crumble away. My present invention enables me to subject tungsten powder toenormous pressures and at the same time to secure'perfect ingots, principally for the reason thatvwhen I relievefthe ingot from the enormous pressure utilized' in its formation I permit the compressed tungsten powder to expand substantially equally in all directions. By so doing I find that vthe compressed tungsten powder does not crumble or fall apart when the pressure is relieved therefrom.

These and other objects .0f my invention will be more clearly brought out in c0n nection with the accompanying drawings wherein, l

Figure 1 is a plan view of' the lower die member of the apparatus for compressing the powdered tungsten into ingot form;

Fig. 2 is 'a vertical c ross sectional view taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 looking in dthe direction indicated by the arrows; an

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Similar characters of reference'refer to similar parts throughout the several views. Referring first to Fig. 2, 4 illustrates the lowerdie member and 5 the upper die member of the apparatus for compressing the powdered tungsten into ingot form.. The upper die member` consists of a supporting plate 6 attached to suitable mechanism, for lowering and raising it into and away from the base die 4. The plate 6 carries a block 7 secured to the former by means of the screws illustrated at 8 8. A slot is provided at 9 in the block 7 in which is held by means of the screws 10 10 the upper die member 11. This die member 11 is arranged to be inserted into the slot 12 pro vided in the base die 4, which slot contains the powdered tungsten to be compressed.

The die 4 is composed of the base 13 provided with the downwardly tapered opening 14 located on its upper side. A strip 15 is centrally located in the opening 14 and serves as the bottom or base for the y slot or opening 12 in which the powdered tungsten is compressed. The side walls of the opening 12 are formed by the movable blocks or dies 16 and 17 each provided with an oblique side face 18 arranged to ride vertieally on the side wall of the opening 14.

The blocks 16 and 17 are normally retained in the position illustrated in Fig. 2 by means of the strips 19 secured to the base member 13 by means of the screws illustrated at 20 20. The end walls of the slotk arranged to have vertical movement on their oblique faces when the strips 19 are raised.

The operation of the device is as follows: The powdered tungsten or tantalum is placed in the opening 12 and the upper die member 11 lowered into the opening to com press the powdered tungsten. As before mentioned, the pressure required to press the tungsten powder into ingot 'form is between 135 and 160 tons per square inch. When this enormous pressure is relieved from the ingot it is necessary to relieve the pressure in such manner as to permit the ingot to expand equally in all directions otherwise the ingot will crumble away or Hy apart. To provide for this uniform expansion of the ingot when the pressure is removed the expansible die member 4 is utilized.

After the tungsten powder has been subjected to suficient pressure to convert it into a solid ingot the 'upper die member 1-1 is slightly raised. At the same time however that the upper die member l1 is raised the strips 19-19 are released by turning the screws 20 to permit the blocks 16 and 17 and the end pieces`21 and 22 to move upwardly. The upward movement of the members 16, 17, 21, and 22, due to their oblique riding faces, causes them to spread outwardly with the result that the ingot is not only permitted to expand upwardly as the die member 11 is removed, but is permitted also to expand laterally in all directions, the pressure of the ingot, of course, serving to cause movementof the members 16, 17, 21, and 22 in the aforesaid upward direction.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for compressing powder or granular material, comprising a base member having a depression therein with diverging walls, a plurality of die members-having correspondingly diverging outer walls and substantially plane inner walls and arranged to ft within the depressionin said base member, said die members being arranged to co-act to formsides of a rectangular chamber open at the top, releasable means for holding said die members in coacting relation, a plunger adapted to fit into the chamber through the opening` in the top for the purpose ofV compressing the powder v or granular material toward the bottom of the rectangular chamber, the divergence of the walls of the base member being such as Ato permit a slight lateral movement of the die members as the plunger is withdrawn after its compression stroke whereby the compressed material may expand laterally as well as vertically.

. 2. A die for compressing powder into an ingot, comprising a plurality of members which when fitted together form five plane walls inclosing a rectangular chamber, a plunger of proper size to completely fill the opening into the chamber, a block embra ing the die members and having one or more divergingwalls against which one or more ofthe die members engage, the angle of divergence being such as to permit the lateral expansion of the chamber at substantially the same rate as the vertical enlargement thereof as the plunger is lifted out of the chamber.

3. A machine for forming elastic ingots of compressible material, comprising a die' block having a depression therein having a diverging wall, a die member iitting into the depression and having a diverging face engaging said diverging wall, said die member forming one side of a rectangular chamber, means forming the other three sides and base of said chamber, a plunger adapted to form the to'p of said chamber and to fit within the chamber to vcompress the com pressible material toward the bottom of the chamber, the divergence of the wall in said die block being such as to permit lateral expansion of the compressed material at a rate substantially equal to the vertical expansion when the pressure upon the plunger is relieved.

4. A die for compressing metallic powder comprising spaced side members, a bottom member extendin upwardly between said side members an o o-acting therewith vto form means for holding metallic powder, a top member fitting the space between said side members, means for moving said top member and said bottom member relative to each other to compress and release the powder, and means for causing said side members when released to move away from the compressed ingot under the expansive force of said ingot at substantially equal rates tol permit equal lateral expansion of said ingot.

5. A die for compressing metallic powder comprising spaced side members,'a bottom member co-acting therewith to form means for holding metallic powder, a top member litting the space between said side members, means for moving said top member and said bottom member relative to each other to compress and release the powder, and means for causing said side members when released to move away from the compressed ingot under the expansive force of said.ingot at substantially equal rates to permit equal lateral expansion of said ingot, the adjacent walls of said side 'members being substan- A ing a mass of the metal powder to pressure to cause the particles of. metal to adhere, said means being adapted to be released, and means whereby said irst-named means may be controlled while being released so as to move away from the sides of said ingot at substantially equal rates, and away from the ends thereof at agreater rate.

8. Means for compressing powdered materials, comprising top, bottom,` side, and end die members, releasable means for holding said bottom, side, and end members in co-acting relation to form a female die member for receiving said top member, and

means for causing said 'side and end mem-` bers to move upwardly as they move outwardly under the expansion of the ingot when the top member is retracted and the releasable means are actuated to release said side and end members, the said means causing the end members to move outwardly at a greater rate than said side members.

9. Means for compressing powdered materials, comprising top, bottom, side, and end die members, releasable means for holding said bottom, side, and end members in co-acting relation to :form a female die member for receiving said top member, and

means for causing said side and end mem-I bers to move upwardly as they move outwardly under the expansion of the ingot when the top member is retracted and the releasable means are actuated to release said side and vend members.

In witness whereof, I here-unto subscribe my name this 5th day of October, A. D.

CARL A. PFANSTIEHL. Witnesses:

CLARENCE W. BALKE, MARGARET GROBBEN. 

